Chemical structure and preservation processes of organic matter in soils and sediments
Until recently, geochemists and soil scientists appeared to belong to two distinct scientiÆc commu- nities that did not interact. However, as recently stressed in a review by Hedges and Oades ( Organic Geochem- istry , 27, 319±361, 1997), striking similarities exist between soils and surface marine sediments since both environments comprise complex mixtures of degraded biomass containing mineral particles, water and micro- organisms. Consequently, a common analytical approach could be developed to examine the chemical structure of both types of organic matter (OM). Spec- troscopic and pyrolytic methods are a priori suitable tools but mineral removal is often a prerequisite and may lead to the alteration of the organic matter. Sedi- mentary OM is usually processed using solvent extrac- tions and base and acid hydrolyses to a ord di erent fractions which are further analysed by conventional methods such as GC and GC/MS, whereas analyses of soil OM usually involves particle size fractionation as a Ærst step. Moreover, observations using light and elec- tron microscopy are increasingly carried out on both types of OM.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | artículo biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2000
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/82858 |
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| Summary: | Until recently, geochemists and soil scientists
appeared to belong to two distinct scientiÆc commu-
nities that did not interact. However, as recently stressed
in a review by Hedges and Oades (
Organic Geochem-
istry
, 27, 319±361, 1997), striking similarities exist
between soils and surface marine sediments since both
environments comprise complex mixtures of degraded
biomass containing mineral particles, water and micro-
organisms. Consequently, a common analytical
approach could be developed to examine the chemical
structure of both types of organic matter (OM). Spec-
troscopic and pyrolytic methods are a priori suitable
tools but mineral removal is often a prerequisite and
may lead to the alteration of the organic matter. Sedi-
mentary OM is usually processed using solvent extrac-
tions and base and acid hydrolyses to a ord di erent
fractions which are further analysed by conventional
methods such as GC and GC/MS, whereas analyses of
soil OM usually involves particle size fractionation as a
Ærst step. Moreover, observations using light and elec-
tron microscopy are increasingly carried out on both
types of OM. |
|---|